MOSCOW, August 15 (RIA Novosti) - Three West African athletes from the areas affected by the recent Ebola outbreak will not take part in the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, a joint communique issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the games’ Organizing Committee said Friday.
To ensure the safety of the participants in the competition, the IOC has banned athletes from the West African regions affected by the Ebola epidemic from participating in contact sports and pool events, reads the Friday communique.
The decision affects three athletes in total, while other contestants from the region will be “Subject to regular temperature and physical assessment throughout the period [of the games],” the joint statement says.
The Second Youth Olympic Games is to be held in Nanjing, China from August 16-28.
Earlier, Sierra Leone’s Olympic body urged its athletes to refrain from taking trips to China. Although the Nanjing Organizing Committee stressed that all nations are equally welcome in the competition, and noted that the risk of infection at the event is extremely low.
The Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa has killed 1,069 people, while almost 2,000 have been infected. There is currently no approved cure for the disease, although several companies are in trials for possible treatments. Wednesday, the World Health Organization declared it ethical to give the experimental drugs to the infected.
